Hollental and the Hrishsprung Deer

Confront your fear and turn the mental blocks into building blocks.” ― Roopleen

The Black Forest is a well known wooded area in Europe surrounding the mountainous region bordering France. One encounters the stretch of dense forest after one crosses river Rhine bordering France and many beautiful places in Germany. The country side is striking with long trails of roads, isolated and amalgamated as one drives uphill. The stretch of thick forests with occasional plains keeps one spellbound. It establishes the poetic lines of Robert Frost, ‘the woods are lovely dark and deep, I have promises to keep….. Plentiful rainfall, suitable climate and the richness of the soil have made the plants self perpetuating into a closeness that makes it difficult for the sun’s rays to penetrate into these. You see divine hues of light green, dark green and almost blackish Evergreen trees like the Pines and Elms. The forest area has also been a witness to the regular visits of Count Otto Von Bismarck as the German Chancellor. The solitude, the hills, rivers, waterfalls and green trees tickle the imagination of any sane person with insanity towards the magnificence of nature.

The coach lumbered through the roads noiselessly via Strasburg, Hoffenberg and Freiberg with the top university. The guide kept us informed about the places.  She told us that cycling was a common mode of transport and that Frankfurt was the only German city with modern architecture and crowded locales. Many of Grimm’s tales like Hansel and Gretel and Red Riding Hood originated in these forests. The sagacity of the chocolate cottage, the witch, appealing children, the sinister fox and the impressive cottages could be felt as a matter of fact. There were three skiing stretches visible. One could opt to choose according to their caliber. We crossed the museum and many more landmarks to reach an exotic splendour.

Amidst the scenic landscape lies the lake Titisee to the southern end, which people claim to have been formed from a large glacier named the Feldberg at a height of 1,493 meters. A few claim that the name Titisee is attributed to the legend that proclaims that little babies were delivered from the bottomless lake while  few others maintain that it was named after the Roman General Titus who treasured the place when he had camped there.  The lake is around two to three km in length and width with rowing boats lined across the lake. One can opt for a motored boat or row on using the pedal boats.  The lake is wizened by the city of Titisee which includes a few shops that sell the famous cuckoo clocks that originated here. There are plenty of restaurants, beautiful cottages, which vary in sizes adjacent to a central road that crisscrossed through the lanes to reach the lake, the central market and the highway. The market square has flower beds with beautiful coloured flowers. Every tiny spot of empty space has been filled with grassy lawn and coloured flower beds making it surreal. The place is rich in culture and traditions. They show a perfect balance in life. In France, we had witnessed the late night life and the wonders of the night, but in Germany, people preferred to close down their shops at six in the evening depicting a perfect balance of work and personal life. The women and men worked at par with the same zeal and spirit. The lake does not freeze easily during winter owing to the blowing winds hence skiing is allowed only in restricted parts even when the winters are fierce.

While one passes through the Black forest one can view a metal stag at the Hollental known as ‘Hell’s valley’ in English. It speaks about the legend of a Hrishsprung deer in the mountainous regions of the Black forest which was chased by a Knight from the castle of Falkstein. The chase continued for a long time, the deer was swift, but the knight was no less in the stalk.  The trail led the deer to a nine meter gorge amongst the mountainous regions in the state of Baden-Württemberg, which cheered up the knight for he was now sure of not loosing the catch. The deer knew it would either die at the hands of the knight or in the wide gorge; it gave a mighty dive to cross the gorge. The powerful leap saved the deer and the knight who also leapt across to hunt the deer fell into the gorge to die.

The strength of the deer became a conviction in the people to never give up. The Parish of Falkenstein put up a wooden stag in 1856 at the spot which could be viewed by visitors as one moved through the valley. The gorge has widened with time and is several meters wide now. The wooden statue was destroyed in the storms, but was replaced again and again till the year 1907 when a 2.5 meter high bronze statue was erected through the donations made by people to memorize the cause. It has been repaired, painted and polished periodically to fill in the bullet holes and the wear and tear due to the weather changes. A railway station welcomes people to Hollental making it Heavenly and Divine.

“If the fire in your heart is strong enough, it will burn away any obstacles that come your way.” ― Suzy Kassem